HOW AND WHERE TO LOOK IT UP
RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHING THE HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA. ©2001
William D. Theriault, Ph.D.
17434 Virginia Ave.
Hagerstown, MD 21740
WMTheriault@myactv.net
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21. Women's Studies
The contributions of women to the history of Jefferson County have not been systematically studied. The best place to begin research is with Barbara J. Howe’s "The Status of Women's History in West Virginia," in West Virginia History: Critical Essays on the Literature, Lewis, Ronald L. and John C. Hennen, Jr. (eds.), pp. 149-186. Howe reviews the evolution of women’s history, relevant issues, and information resources.

General sources listed in her article include:

Farr, Sidney, Saylor. Appalachian Women: An Annotated Bibliography. University Press of Kentucky, 1981. Contains just a few references to Jefferson County but provides useful background on Appalachian culture. Sections include: Autobiography & Biography, Coal Mining, Education, Fuction & Drama, Health Conditions & Health Care, Industry, Life Styles, Migrants, Music, Oral History, Poetry, Religion& Folklore, Studies & Surveys.

Fisher, Ruth Coe. "A History of Women in West Virginia," M.A. Thesis, Marshall College, 1949.

Hensley, Frances (ed.). Missing Chapters II: West Virginia Women in History. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Women’s Commission, 1986.

Melosh, Barbara. “Recovery and Revision: Women’s History and West Virginia,” West Virginia History, 49 (1990): 3-6.

West Virginia Women’s Commission. Missing Chapters: West Virginia Women in History. Charleston, WV: West Virginia’s Women’s Commission, 1983.

Who’s Who in West Virginia: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Men and Women of the States of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. Chicago: A.N. Marquis Co., 1939.

Who’s Who in West Virginia. Clarksburg, WV: Who’s Who Historical Society, 1983.

Women of West Virginia: A Bibliography. Huntington, WV: Huntington Public Library, 1943.

Worthy, Adrienne C. West Virginia Women: In Perspective, 1870-1985. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Women’s Commission, 1985.

Reseachers should become familiar with the Virginia and West Virginia laws affecting women. See:

Fifteen Years of State Legislation Impacting Women, 1970 through 1984. Charleston, WV: Legislative Services, 1984.

Linde E. Speth and Alison Duncan Hirsch, Women, Family, and Community in Colonial America. New York: Institute for Research in History and the Harworth Press, 1983.

Spindel, Donna. “Women’s Legal Rights in West Virginia,” West Virginia History, 51 (1992): 29-43. Spendel reviews women’s legal rights in Virginia and West Virginia as derived from English common law. Includes information on property rights, dower, protection of property of married women, inheritance, divorce and alimony. The author concludes that a culture which has taught women “to serve men and to consider themselves somewhat inferior, and which put great emphasis on family, prescribed a role for women that reinforced dependence.” Once you understand the limits placed on women’s ownership of property, consult public records for wills, deeds, and estate inventories. Birth and death records in Jefferson County are not available before 1853. Starting in 1850, census records contain the names of individuals, allowing specific women to be identified. See Chapter 3. Public Records. Other sources for statistical and census information include:

Conk, Margo A. “Accuracy, efficiency, and Bias: The Interpretation of Women’s Work in the U.S. Census of Occupations, 1890-1940,” Historical Methods, 14 (September 1981): 65.

Kennedy, Joseph D.G. Population of the United States in 1860: Compiled from the Original Returns of the Eighth Census, Under the Direction of the Secretary of the Interior. Washington, DC: GPO, 1864.

Manufactures of the United States in 1860; Compiled from the Original Returns under the Direction of the Secretary of the
Interior. Washington, DC: GPO, 1865.

Department of the Interior, Census Bureau. Report on the Population of the United States at the Eleventh Census, 1890, Part I. Washington, DC: G.P.O., 1895.

Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census, Statistics. Washington, DC: G.P.O., 1907.

Colonial Period

During the colonial period of Jefferson County’s history, only the individual actions of Catana Bierlin have been recorded as worthy of note. According to Engle family history, Catana arrived in present day Jefferson County about 1709 with a group of German settlers from Philadelphia. After the settlers built a fort near Duffields, it was attacked by Indians. During the siege, Catana was mortally wounded carrying water from the spring to support the fort’s inhabitants.

If the date of 1709 on her tombstone is correct, it would strengthen the argument for this site’s being the earliest settlement in West Virginia. Catana’s date of death is now illegible on the tombstone, but testimonies from 19th century visitors to her grave verify the “1709" inscription. Some scholars have rejected the accuracy of this date, arguing Indian control of the area made such a settlement impossible. It is not clear when the stone was carved and set and whether the date was recorded accurately on it. Engle family history notes that the fort was abandoned after the Indian attack was repulsed. Discussions of Catana Biern can be found in the following sources:

"An Ancient Relic Shipped Away, " Shepherdstown Register, October 26, 1899.

Cartmell, T.K. Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendants. Winchester: Eddy Press Corp., 1908, p. 265.

Engle, Lodonzo C. “Excerpts from ‘A Brief by L. C. Engle on the Origin of the Engle Name,’ " in Theriault, History of Eastern Jefferson County, Bakerton, WV: The Jefferson County Oral and Visual History Association, Inc., 1988, Appendix A.

“Century Farms II,” Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society, 23 (1957): 43.

Dandridge, Danske. Historic Shepherdstown. Charlottesville, Virginia: The Mitchie Company, Printers, 1910, pp. 7-8.

Theriault, William D. "Catana Biern," Spirit of Jefferson, January 28, 1988.

Correspondence regarding the presence of the “1709" date on the tombstone is available at the West Virginia Division of Archives and History.

Early National Period

Perhaps the best known woman in early Jefferson County was Dolly Madison, who was not a resident but was married at Harewood in September 15, 1794. Descriptions of the wedding include:

Clark, Arthur Culling. Life and Letters of Dolly Madison. Washington, DC: Press of W.F. Roberts Co., 1914. Includes brief references to John A. Washington, Lawrence Washington, and Harewood plus photographs of the interior and exterior of Harewood.

“Madison, Dolly Todd,” in Jim Comstock, West Virginia Women. Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974, pp. 199-200.

Madison, Dolly. Memoirs and Letters of Dolly Madison, Wife of James Madison, President of the United States. Edited by Her Grand-Niece. Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1886.

Washington, John A. "A Factual Account of the Wedding At Harewood of James and Dolley Madison," Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society, 47 (1981): 17-22. Includes background on James and Dolly Madison and an account of the wedding at Harewood by Dolly Madison's grand-niece. Willis, Eliza Washington. "The Wedding of Dolly Payne Todd and James Madison," Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society, 1 (1935): 27-30.

One of the earliest publications for women, The Ladies Garland, began publication in Jefferson County in 1824. It was edited and published in Harpers Ferry by John S. Gallaher between 1824 and 1828. It is not clear whether local women had much influence on its content. See:

"John Gallaher, Pioneer Newspaper Editor of Panhandle Named to 'Hall of Fame'." Spirit of Jefferson, October 17, 1957. Sketch of the accomplishments of John S. Gallaher, editor of the Virginia Free Press and Ladies Garland.

Education

By the end of the 18th century, girls were being educated at private schools. The number of schools for girls continued to grow in the 19th century until they were present in every town throughout the county. Some female schools established include:

Charlestown Athenaeum and Female Academy

Charlotte Gregg’s Female Seminary (Bolivar)

Female Institute of Charles Town

Harpers Ferry Female Institute

Harpers Ferry Male and Female Seminary

Jane K. Frame’s female school at Bolivar

Jefferson Female Institute

Miss Churchill’s Seminary

Mrs. Forrest’s Seminary

Mrs. Mathias and Ms. Maudeville’s seminary for young ladies (Bolivar)

Mt. Parvo Institute

Powhatan College for Young Women (Charles Town)

Robert T. Brown’s school for young ladies

St. Hilda’s Hall (Charles Town)

Stephenson Female Seminary (Charles Town)

Local newspapers provide substantial information about these and other schools through advertisements as well as notices of events. Other sources to be consulted include:

Lewis, Virgil A. "Early Education in West Virginia." In West Virginia Department of Education. History of Education in West Virginia (Charleston, WV: The Tribune Printing Co., 1904. Contains an illustration of Powhatan College for Women
Lewis, Virgil A. Handbook of West Virginia. Published by West Virginia Commission of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 1904. References to Stephenson Seminary for Young Ladies and Powhatan College for Young Women.

Lewis, Virgil A. (comp.) West Virginia. Its History, Natural Resources, Industrial Enterprises and Institutions. [Charleston, WV]: [Printed by the Tribune Printing Co.], [1904]. Contains a brief sketch of Jefferson County, including Stephenson Seminary for Young Ladies and Powhatan College for Women.

Rossler, Kathryn Babb. "Women and Education in West Virginia, 1810-1909," West Virginia History, 36 (1974-1975): 271-290.

West Virginia. Department of Education. History of Education in West Virginia. Charleston, WV: Tribune Printing Co., 1904.

Employment

Employment opportunities for women in Jefferson County have been limited not only by gender bias but also by the small number of available options. Living in a largely agricultural community, many Jefferson County women spent their lives working on local farms. From this background, women became strongly involved in agricultural organizations, including the West Virginia Grange, The Farm Bureau, farm women’s clubs, and the West Virginia Extension Homemakers. Sources exploring women’s role in local agriculture and industry include:

Bumgardner, Stanley and Lee Maddex. 75th Anniversary History of The Cooperative Extension Service, Manuscript, by WVU.

Byrne, Harriet Anne. Women’s Employment in West Virginia. Washington, DC: U.S. G.P.O., 1937.

Eagan, Shirley C. “ ‘Women’s Work Never Done’: West Virginia Farm Women, 1880s-1920s,” West Virginia History , 49 (1990): 21-35. Explores the evolution of women’s roles on the farm, the everyday work, and the technological advances that affected women’s lives. One of the case studies presented in the article deals with the Tabb family of Jefferson County and is based on the diary of Rebecca K. Tabb (1888- 1890). Information was also gathered from a 1989 interview with Virginia and Lyle Tabb. Several pages describe Tabb farm operations and the duties of family members. Part of the information for the study
comes from the General Federation of Women’s Clubs’ 1926 Survey of Farm Homes in West Virginia (Washington: Home Survey), 1926; the tables in this work enumerate various aspects of farm life.

"Farmerettes for Jefferson County." Shepherdstown Register (May 30, 1918), p. 3. A unit of the Woman's Land Army of America is to be established on the farm of the McDonald brothers (Media) in Jefferson County.

General Federation of Women’s Clubs. 1926 Survey of Farm Homes in West Virginia. Washington, DC: Home Survey, 1926. Includes tabulations of surveys sent to West Virginia farm women in 1926. Worksheets submitted include one for Daisy Butler Van Metre of Kearneysville.

Hensley, Frances S. “Women in the Industrial Work Force in West Virginia, 1880-1945,” West Virginia History, 48 (1990): 115-125. Explores the changing roles of West Virginia Women in the workplace. Hensley concludes “The concentration of employment in ... extractive and mechanical industries became a dominant factor of West Virginia’s industrial structure and imposed many long-term restrictions on employment opportunities for women.”

Myers, Mrs. William, Jr. "Farm Women's Clubs in Jefferson." Address presented to the Jefferson County Historical Society, November 10, 1937.

Pudup, Mary Beth. “Women’s Work in the West Virginia Economy,” West Virginia History 49 (1990): 7-20.

Teaching has traditionally provided employment for many Jefferson County women, first in local private schools and then in public schools and colleges. See Chapter 4. School Records for information resources.

Brief biographies about the following women educators are presented in Jim Comstock’s West Virginia Women: Ann Henshaw Gardiner (pp. 104-105); Mary Tucker Magill (pp. 200-201); and Ella May Turner.

Women have also become prominent as writers in a variety of areas, including history, nature, poetry, and drama. Some of the prominent women in this field include Danske Dandridge, Virginia Lucas, and Julia Davis. See Chapter 19. The Arts for additional information on these and other women writers. Katherine B. Frazier has compiled "West Virginia Women Writers, 1822-1979," (1979), which is available in the West Virginia Regional History Collection.

Some of the earliest women in local industry were employed in textile factories, including the Perfection Garment operations in Martinsburg and Charles Town. See Jera Jenrette,“The Textile Industry in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle.” Ph.D. Dissertation, WVU. Movie footage of women at the Charles Town Perfection Garment plant are included in: Sinn, Tim. “See Yourself in the Movies,” Charles Town Lions’ Club, 1941. (Reissued by the Jefferson County Oral & Visual History Association)
Surkamp, James T. "Tape 11: Charles Town, WV History." Frederick, MD, GS Communications: 1998. Charles Town, WV: Perfection Garment Ladies, pt. 1 (3:51); and Charles Town, WV: Perfection Garment Ladies, pt. 2 (5:16) Like women throughout the country, those from Jefferson County found jobs in industries, such as quarrying, when World War II called up most able-bodied men. Interviews with employees at Standard Lime and Stone’s Bakerton Plant (e.g., George Dozier and Lowell Hetzel) described the role of women in the workplace during this period. Most of these women were dismissed from the workplace when the men returned from the war. See Chapter 18. Oral History for information about these and other sources.
The role of black women, both free and slaves, in Jefferson County history is another topic begging for treatment. Wills and estate inventories may yield information about tasks performed by black women, and newspaper advertisements for the sale or lease of slaves often provide information about women’s skills and their children.

Charitable, Memorial, and Social Activities

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Jefferson County women have taken the lead in organizing fund raising activities for worthy causes, ministering to the poor and sick, and commemorating war dead (e.g., Memorial or Decoration Day). Many examples can be found in local newspapers, some of which have been abstracted in the Explorer Database.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, socially prominent county women participated in ring tournament festivities. In these contests, local “knights” (each representing a lady) competed for the honor of having their lady crowned Queen of Love and Beauty. These events were often followed by dinners, concerts, and costume balls. Sources describing local ring tournaments are available in the Bibliography.

Local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution provided opportunities for women to socialize, research their ancestors, and carry out preservation and local history projects. See Juliette Boyd Baker, “West Virginia State History of the Daughters of the American Revolution” (n.p., n.d. [1928]).

Biographies or biographical sketches of local women

Few Jefferson County women have been the subjects of biographies, even on the most superficial level. The more detailed sources include:

Sarah Jane Foster, who taught blacks in Jefferson County after the Civil War, is described in the publication of her collected letters: Sarah Jane Foster, Teacher of the Freedmen. A Diary and Letters. Wayne E. Reilly, ed. (Charlottesville and London: University Press of Virginia), 1990.

Daisy D. Fritts, who served as superintendent of the Jefferson County Alms House from 1931 to 1959, is described in: "Personality of the Week" Mrs. Daisy Dunaway Fritts," Jefferson Republican, January 26, 1947, p. 15; and "County Infirmary to be Closed Nov. 19 After Century Operations; Mrs. Daisy D. Fritts is Retiring," Spirit of Jefferson, November 12, 1959, p. 1.

Carrie Lee Strider, the first woman deputy sheriff in West Virginia, is described in "Personality of the Week: Miss Carrie Lee Gardner Strider," Jefferson Republican, April 13, 1947, p. 10.

Julia Davis, a West Virginia writer and sometime resident of Jefferson County, was the subject of several biographical essays. Davis wrote a trilogy of novels based in Jefferson County and the McDonald family of Media. Her most famous work of local nonfiction is The Shenandoah (New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1945). William Theriault conducted the following interviews of Julia Davis: February 4, 1992, February 15, 1992, February 26, 1992, March 4, 1992, March 18, 1992, April 7, 1992, and May 7, 1992. Transcripts of these interviews can be found in the Explorer Database, and the subject matter is described in the Bibliography.

Many of Julia Davis’ unpublished short stories and plays have been donated to the Jefferson County Museum. See also:

Tedford, Barbara Wilkie, "Confronting `The Other' in the fiction of Julia Davis," Bulletin of the West Virginia Association of College Teachers 11 (Fall 1989): 93-100.

Theriault, William D. "Julia Davis." In Harvest: Collected Works of Julia Davis. Charles Town, WV: Arts & Humanities Alliance of Jefferson County, 1992. (This essay is the only authorized biography of Julia Davis. The volume includes poetry, short stories, and a play that were previously unpublished.)

Theriault, William D. “Julia Davis: West Virginia Wordcrafter,” Goldenseal, (1992). Includes photographs of Julia Davis and of Media, the McDonald’s Jefferson County homestead.

The following sources contain autobiographical material or brief biographical sketches:

Comstock, Jim. West Virginia Women. Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974. This is published as volume 25 of the West Virginia Encyclopedia. Includes brief biographies of Danske Dandridge (pp. 19-20, 80-81); Julia Davis (pp. 82-85); Ann Henshaw Gardiner (pp. 104-105); Virginia Bedinger Lucas (p. 199); Dolly Todd Madison (pp. 199-200); Mary Tucker Magill (pp. 200-201); and Ella May Turner. Note: The photograph labeled “Julia McDonald Davis” (Julia Davis’ mother) is actually her step-mother, Ellen Bassell.

Evans, Willis F. History of Berkeley County, West Virginia. Wheeling: Privately Printed, 1928. Brief biographies of Mabel Henshaw Gardiner and Betty Dandridge.

These sources of biographical information should also be consulted:

Mitchell, Nina Cornelia (1872-1970). Papers, 1854-1958, 4,021 items and 46 v. Duke University Library. Chiefly correspondence of Miss Mitchell, of Flushing, NY, and Shepherdstown, Jefferson County, WV, relating to her European relief work during and immediately after World War One, from friends, relatives, and soldiers in England, France, Italy, and the U. S. Topics include U. S. Army camps, British Expeditionary Forces' hospitals and nurses in France, refugees in Italy, various organizations for wounded soldiers, such as Le Phare de France, and the role women played in relief work. Some letters
after World War One relate to continued European relief work and the Food For France Fund. Card index in the library.
Moler, Daniel Grove. "Distinguished Men and Women of West Virginia." Shepherdstown Register (July 17, 1924), p. 2. This piece was the winner of the first prize offered by H. C. Getzendanner in an essay contest. Includes brief references to Jefferson County.

Moore, Frank. Women of the War. Hartford: S. S. Scranton & Co., 1866. A work honoring Union and Confederate heroines of the Civil War, it includes a reference to Mrs. Mary W. Lee, who nursed Union soldiers at Harpers Ferry, where her son (72nd Pennsylvania) was stationed and severely wounded by an explosion.

"Southworth, Emma (Dorothy Eliza Nevitte)." National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, vol. 1, p. 432.

E.D.E.N. Southworth was a popular female novelist in the mid-19th century who spend several summers at Shannondale Springs and write a novel Shannondale at that location.

Witte, Eva Knox. Nothing is Dripping On Us. Boston: Little Brown, 1954. An account by a woman who spent several childhood years in Shepherdstown as the daughter of the Southern Methodist minister.

Women’s support of abolitionist movement and John Brown

Women played an active role in the abolitionist movement from the beginning and participated in the ongoing dialog about slavery during the 19th century. Many of John Brown’s most fervent supporters, both before and after his death, were women. The following sources provide background on women’s involvement in these issues:

Barnett, Nellie Koontz. "The Girls at the Kennedy Farm." Sunday Gazette-Mail State Magazine (Charleston, WV), (August 1, 1965). The story of Annie and Martha Brewster Brown, housekeepers and guardians at the Kennedy Farm while John Brown gathered his men and arms for the historic raid. Annie, daughter of John Brown, was the last survivor of the raid company and last of Brown's twenty children. Martha, wife of Oliver, did not live long after the raid in which Oliver was killed.

Brown, Mrs. E.S. "A Woman's Recollections of John Brown's Stay in Springdale." Midland Monthly (Des Moines, Iowa), 10 (December 1898): 576. About the sojourn of Brown and his men at Springdale, Iowa, in 1858; threats to arrest them and defensive measures taken by the young men of the community. Comment on the mother of the Coppoc boys. [Abstract by Boyd B. Stutler.]

Cavanagh, Catherine Frances. "Harpers Ferry and the Man Who Made It Famous." Donahoe's Magazine (Boston), (June 1894), 645-655. The story of Harpers Ferry in 1893 and John Brown's raid in 1859 as told by a lady who witnessed it in part. [Abstract by Boyd B. Stutler.]

Chambers, Jennie. "What a School-Girl Saw of John Brown's Raid." Harper's Monthly Magazine, 104 (January 1902): 311-318.

Child, Lydia Maria and Gov. Henry Wise. Anti-Slavery Tracts. No. 1. New Series. Correspondence Between Lydia Maria Child and Gov. Wise And Mrs. Mason, of Virginia. New York: Published by The American Anti-slavery Society, 1860. Relates to the John Brown raid and the slavery question. Abolitionist statements in the form of letters addressed to Governor Wise of Virginia on the occasion of John Brown's raid and arrest.

Child criticizes Virginia's laws on race and draws a rebuke from Wise. Included is a letter from John Brown to Child asking for financial help for his family and an exchange of hostile letters between Child and a Virginia woman over the issues of Brown and slavery.

Conrad, Earl. "She Was a Friend of John Brown." Negro World Digest (New York), 1 (November 1940): 6-11. When she came to die, "Mammy" Pleasant, San Francisco's mystery Negro woman, requested that her only epitaph be "She Was a Friend of John Brown." Mrs. Pleasant claimed a share in the triumph and disaster at Harpers Ferry; she oft repeated the statement that she had met Brown in Canada and gave him $30,000 to use in his anti-slavery work, and that she, personally, was in Virginia stirring up slaves when the raid occurred. Her claims of the large contribution and even of her personal agitation can not
be confirmed. [Abstract by Boyd B. Stutler.]

Davis, Sam P. "How a Colored Woman Aided John Brown." Comfort (Augusta, Maine), (November 1903). This is a story told by Mary Ellen (Mammy) Pleasant, an influential and mysterious black woman of San Francisco, to Sam P. Davis while on her death bed. See note to previous entry.

"The Fight at Harper's Ferry." Richmond Dispatch [?], unknown date, unknown page. A newspaper clipping in the scrapbook of Annie H. Campbell in the Old Charles Town Library. The letter is signed "A Jefferson Lady, Charlestown, Jefferson County, October 19, 1861," and is designated in the article as correspondence of the Richmond Dispatch.

Finkelman, Paul (Ed.). His Soul Goes Marching On: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995. Includes “Northern Antislavery Women and John Brown's Raid” by Wendy Hamand Venet.
Women’s Civil War experiences Women provided detailed descriptions of the battlefield as well as the homefront during the Civil War. Some relevant sources include:

Andrews, Matthew Page. Women of the South in War Times. Baltimore: Norman, Remington Co., 1920.

Blackford, Launcelot Minor. Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: The Story of a Virginia Lady, Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford,1802-1896, who taught her sons to hate Slavery and to love the Union. Cambridge: Howard University Press, 1954.

Mitchell, Mary Bedinger. (Mary Blunt). "A Woman's Recollections of Antietam." Century Illustrated Monthly, (July 1886), 435. Reprinted as Surkamp, James E. (ed.) "A Woman's Recollections of Antietam, by Mary Bedinger Mitchell (Mary Blunt), edited by James T. Surkamp. Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society, 59 (1993): 45-57.

"Petition to Ashby." Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society, 44 (1978): 33. A petition from the ladies of Shepherdstown [1862?], asking Ashby to station Confederate troops in town to protect its citizens. List of petitioners included.

"A Stirring Letter from a Virginia Woman." Spirit of Jefferson, March 23, 1880, January-June, 1880. Letter written by Mrs. Henrietta E. Lee to Gen. David Hunter, the commander who burned the houses of Hon. A. R. Boteler, and Andrew Hunter and Edmund I. Lee, Esqs. July 20, 1864.

"Strange Story of Mrs. Van Metre." Spirit of Jefferson, August 26, 1925, p. 8, col. 5. Concerns heroic actions of Berryville woman in Civil War. Mrs. Elizabeth Van Metre often rode to Harpers Ferry for medicine and surgical dressings to nurse a young Yankee officer.

Suffrage

The struggles for women’s suffrage are recorded in many of the local newspapers. One of the strongest centers of activity was Shepherdstown, where women ran for office as soon as they received the right to vote. These efforts are described in the Shepherdstown Register and in excerpts of news stories in the Explorer Database, which also contains photographs of women’s suffrage parades. Other important sources include:

National American Women Suffrage Association Records, Manuscript Division, New York Public Library.

"Woman's Suffrage Hinge of Fate." Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society, 28 (1962): 24. Describes vote of a State Senator from Jefferson County which turned the tide toward West Virginia's favorable vote on the Nineteenth Amendment giving nation-wide suffrage to women.

NEXT: 22. Agriculture